INSPIRE’s skilled team of scientists and analysts is dedicated to making science understandable by applying innovative technology for effective solutions.

OUR EXPERTS DELIVER RAPID, CONSISTENT RESULTS THAT ARE VALUED BY CLIENTS FROM ACROSS INDUSTRIES AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.

Our scientists are best known as the original developers of Sediment Profile Imaging, and our staff have more experience than anyone in acquiring and interpreting these images. Our team has expanded from this core focus to include expertise in seafloor, water quality, hydrodynamics, and watershed assessment: capabilities that provide support to a full range of coastal and ocean projects. We start by reading the history of the seafloor through a combination of optical and acoustic methods, including an innovative camera that “optically cores” sediments and gives us a worm’s-eye view.  These detailed images are combined with high-resolution acoustic maps to provide an unparalleled view of the seafloor as a basis for site assessment.  Our company was formed to address problems associated with understanding seafloor and water column dynamics, from basic habitat mapping to assessment of both natural and human impacts.

COMPANY HISTORY

INSPIRE Environmental is a new small business that represents the collective resources of Germano & Associates, Inc. and CoastalVision, LLC. By merging experience and capabilities, and adding key personnel, INSPIRE provides an integrated team of scientists who deliver proven results in developing solutions for marine and environmental assessment for commercial and government clients across a wide range of aquatic environmental issues.

OUR MISSION

  • Help our clients to clearly define the questions being asked.
  • Get the right tools to answer those questions.
  • Apply innovative data visualization techniques to make the results easily understandable.

OUR TEAM

MEET THE PEOPLE BEHIND INSPIRE ENVIRONMENTAL

Drew A. Carey, PhDFounder/Principal Scientist

Co-founder of INSPIRE Environmental, Drew’s leadership drives the company’s strategic vision. He has more than 30 years of experience addressing issues in marine science, environmental monitoring, and marine policy, which ensures the company routinely meets or exceeds client needs. Drew takes particular pride in INSPIRE’s culture of innovation, quality, and compassion and INSPIRE’s commitment to workplace diversity and inclusion.

Joe Germano, PhDFounder/Principal Scientist Emeritus

Joe is one of the original developers of SPI technology and co-founder of INSPIRE. As part of the company’s senior management team, he plays a major role in strategic planning and mentors many of the younger scientists at INSPIRE. Joe has spent more than three decades analyzing SPI imagery, unmatched experience that cements INSPIRE’s place as an industry leader.

Jeanine Boyle, BAChief Executive Officer

Jeanine has been managing high performing teams in the science and technology sectors throughout her career in marine science. An original member of the INSPIRE team, Jeanine is committed to maintaining the creative and innovative culture that Drew and Joe established while reaching new heights as a member of the Venterra Group.

Anntonette Zembrzuska Alberti, JD Director of Strategic Growth

Over the past 30 years, Anntonette has successfully led growth at some of the largest environmental practices focused on the ports & harbors and clean energy industries. Anntonette works closely with INSPIRE’s top scientists to set the strategic course for our company’s continued leadership in offshore renewable energy and sediment management project support.

Kersey Sturdivant, PhDPrincipal Scientist

With a hand in all aspects of INSPIRE’s work, Kersey brings critical and creative thinking to everything he does. He is involved in strategic planning, business development, project design and implementation, and presenting results to external stakeholders. Kersey pushes boundaries and offers new perspectives, enabling him to efficiently solve problems and mentor junior staff.

Kathy Vigness-Raposa, PhDPrincipal Scientist

A Principal Scientist at INSPIRE, Kathy provides leadership for our science and technical teams. An expert in bioacoustics, Kathy’s interest and experience in understanding the impacts of anthropogenic activity in the marine environment will support critical decision-making as the US Offshore Wind industry enters the construction and operations phase.

Marisa Guarinello, MSPrincipal Scientist

With more than a decade of experience interpreting SPI images, Marisa manages numerous projects at INSPIRE and is the lead in INSPIRE’s innovative EFH habitat mapping for offshore wind installations. Marisa has analyzed more than 20,000 SPI images to date, a level of experience that allows her to keep an eye on the details while effortlessly communicating meaningful, big-picture results to clients.

Tina Knips, BS, CPAFinancial Controller

Tina is responsible for all of INSPIRE’s financial reporting, accounting, and proposal budgeting needs. A member of the senior management team, she advises on methods for improving project efficiency while monitoring the company’s financials. Tina supports the team by communicating the company’s financial information in an understandable and actionable way.

Kaitlin Sylvester, BSSr. Project Manager/Director of Government Programs

Katie is a skilled project manager with a solid technical background in marine sciences. A long-time lead of both federal and commercial programs, Katie applies innovative thinking and problem solving to meet client challenges head on. With a background in marine and freshwater sciences and extensive experience in dredged material management, Katie provides targeted leadership for our benthic programs. Her easy going and collaborative nature make her an asset on every project.

Annie Murphy, PhD
Senior Scientist

Annie is a sediment biogeochemist with expertise in coastal and marine systems. Responsible for the ecosystem ecology practice at INSPIRE, Annie leads benthic assessment teams and designs benthic monitoring programs for offshore wind installations. Annie’s particular strength lies in data synthesis and developing impactful graphics and conceptual diagrams to communicate INSPIRE’s findings.

Lianne Allen-Jacobson, PhD
Senior Scientist

Lianne is INSPIRE’s expert in hard bottom benthic ecology. She brings over ten years of experience characterizing hard bottom habitats with visual tools, including macro and time-lapse photography, 3D modeling, and machine learning. Lianne adds value by leveraging quantitative skills to efficiently detect and interpret ecological change and is providing leadership in INSPIRE’s efforts to develop Machine Learning algorithms for image analysis.

Dara Wilber, PhDSenior Scientist

Dara provided technical leadership for INSPIRE’s foundational study of the impacts of offshore wind development on fisheries resources at the Block Island Wind Farm. A lead author of the peer-reviewed publication documenting the study, Dara applies expertise in statistical analyses to evaluate the biological impacts from seafloor disturbances across sectors at INSPIRE.

Ellen Bellagamba Fucile, MAReporting Manager

Ellen serves as INSPIRE’s editorial and technical editor. She produces and edits all of the company’s environmental monitoring reports and major proposals. Ellen collaborates with INSPIRE project scientists and data managers to ensure that deliverables are consistent, in line with company standards, and exceed client expectations in terms of quality.

Lisa Price, MS, PMP Program Manager

Lisa is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certified PMP with 30+ years of experience managing multi-million-dollar energy projects. In addition to managing programs and projects at INSPIRE, Lisa, an expert in process improvement, is developing tools to support project management excellence across all business sectors at INSPIRE.

Kristin ‘Kit’ van Wagner, MS Director of Training/Project Manager

During a decade at sea as an expedition leader, Kit gained critical experience in vessel operations, writing standard operating procedures, and successfully executing effective training initiatives. Kit brings her creative, strategic occupational training approach to the development of internal educational programs that will enable INSPIRE to build a highly skilled workforce to support our projects in the fast-growing blue economy.

Jennifer Stone, MS Health, Safety, Security & Environment (HSSE) and Vessel Assurance Manager

Jenn is a merchant mariner with over 15 years of industry experience working offshore and in shipyards, and as an Adjunct Professor at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Jenn makes sure that INSPIRE staff stays safe, maintaining our Safety Management System and project specific Health and Safety Plans, while working to select the best vessels for our projects and providing the highest level of project safety and environmental compliance.

Brian Gervelis, MSSenior Scientist

With a breadth of experience in fisheries science, Brian manages INSPIRE’s fisheries practice in support of the offshore wind industry. Working hand-in-hand with local commercial and recreational fisheries communities as well as academic and research institutions, Brian is leading the way in the development of innovative techniques for fisheries monitoring.

Kristy Gustafson, BS

Project Scientist and Manager of Field Logistics and Coordination

With a broad background in fisheries science and stakeholder outreach and communication, Kristy is also highly organized and skilled at keeping a lot of balls in the air. In addition to supporting INSPIRE’s technical programs and leading field surveys, Kristy manages schedules for our offshore survey teams, ensuring that all campaigns are staffed for success.

Zach McKelvey, MSProject Scientist

Zach is a marine scientist with a background in seafloor assessment. Calm under pressure, he often leads project teams at INSPIRE, ensuring client satisfaction and on-time delivery of SPI reports. Zach is involved in every step of a project, including survey design, data collection and analysis, equipment deployment and troubleshooting, and report creation.

Ben Taylor, BSGIS Specialist

Ben manages INSPIRE’s geospatial data, inserting exacting standards and a high degree of consistency. Ben creates data visualizations and site maps, and aids in survey and report preparation. With a background in environmental science and remote sensing, he is involved in all aspects of the work we do at INSPIRE from survey design and field work to the creation of data visualization products that aid in communication between clients and stakeholders.

Steven Sabo, BAImage Specialist & Graphic Designer

A picture is worth a thousand words, a central facet of everything we do at INSPIRE. Steve’s work aligns creativity with scientific rigor, taking raw images of the seafloor and synthesizing oceanographic data into powerful visualizations. He is responsible for designing marketing materials, graphics, and conference presentations, as well as graphics for client reports.

Alex Rhoads, MSData Specialist & Statistician

Alex recently returned to INSPIRE after taking a deep dive into deep-sea passive acoustics and spatial statistics to earn her graduate degree from URI. Alex applies statistical analysis techniques to multidisciplinary data sets and manages design, data collection, and data analysis for many of INSPIRE’s projects. Alex’s interest in all things data and keen eye for numbers and patterns ensure that INSPIRE’s data management and quality control procedures remain “best-in-class.”

Connor Capizzano, PhDData Specialist

Connor comes to INSPIRE with nearly a decade of fisheries science experience. He is well-versed in leveraging innovative visualizations and technologies to interpret and communicate complex data to a wide audience. In keeping with his analytical background, Connor also manages INSPIREagility, INSPIRE’s latest online offering for clients to explore their geospatial data.

Kelsey Brown, MSData Analyst

Kelsey oversees INSPIRE’s stringent data quality control procedures and processes data from client surveys. She aids in report production, ensuring client data are collected and stored according to company standards. Kelsey’s background in marine environmental planning means she is well versed in preparing environmental documentation in line with national regulations.

Mitchell Kennedy, BS Senior Oceanographic Specialist

Mitchell was an Oceanographic Technician in the early days of INSPIRE – and we are happy to have him back! He uses his background in oceanography and extensive field experience to lead our survey teams in offshore data acquisition. He is also a part of the habitat mapping team, which has become a key component of INSPIRE’s data deliverables for clients in the offshore wind industry.

Jenn Croteau, BSStaff Scientist

Jenn’s primary focus is in habitat mapping for offshore wind projects. Before joining the INSPIRE team, she spent several years working as a conservation naturalist, collecting habitat data while also coordinating and communicating with public stakeholders. Jenn is detail oriented and takes pride in carefully sifting through large quantities of data to pull out key information.

Alex Zygmunt, MSStaff Scientist

With experience in coastal and resource management and academic research on lobsters and sea bass in US wind energy areas, Alex supports INSPIRE’s work in fisheries monitoring and outreach for offshore wind development. Alex is also a critical member of our field team and uses his marine science background in image analysis.

Sarah Glancy, MSStaff Scientist

Sarah is an interdisciplinary scientist supporting the fisheries and data management teams at INSPIRE. Sarah’s detailed and organized approach to environmental data management contributes to our internal initiatives to apply machine learning tools to scientific image analysis.

Ashley Volk, BSStaff Scientist

Ashley comes to INSPIRE with a degree in Geographical Information Systems – and a lot of enthusiasm. In addition to being a key member of our GIS team, Ashley uses her experience and attention to detail to skillfully support image analysis.

João Kastrup, BSData Analyst

A member of Team Data, João is interested in data acquisition, data processing automation, and implementing data visualization tools. Using diverse data analysis and GIS mapping techniques, João collaborates with INSPIRE’s scientists to help make data understandable.

Elena Maggiacomo, MBAStaff Accountant

Supporting the growing financial team, Elena is keeping the trains on track here. Elena is responsible for a myriad of general accounting functions and keeps an eagle eye on our general ledger.

Charles “Chuck” Holloway, MSField Scientist

A certified hydrographer, Chuck has literally sailed the world for marine science. Drawing from global experience that includes the Hawaii Underwater Research Lab and the US Antarctic Support Program, Chuck applies his skill to ensure the successful execution of INSPIRE’s offshore surveys, providing QA/QC, equipment and system maintenance, and troubleshooting in the field.

OUR PARTNERS

INSPIRE'S TEAMING PARTNERS

Dr. Jessica W. Cook Hale, RPAFull Fathom Five

Dr. Jessica W. Cook Hale, RPA is the founder and principal of FF5 and has 20 years of experience in archaeological geophysics and submerged landscape studies. Dr. Cook Hale brings a strong background in geosciences and anthropological archaeology to the table at FF5, as well. Her portfolio of archaeological work is defined by regional, theoretical, and methodological diversity. Dr. Cook Hale meets the US Department of the Interior (DOI) requirements for a Qualified Marine Archaeologist (QMA).

Travis JonesFull Fathom Five

Travis Jones is an archaeologist, currently finalizing his dissertation at the University of Georgia. With a focus on geoarchaeology, Travis has developed an expertise in elemental and isotopic analysis, a specialization that stands at the intersection of archaeology and geoscience. He has over a decade of experience specifically in radiocarbon dating and X-ray fluorescence (XRF), two techniques that are cornerstones in modern archaeological science.

Jason Burns, M.A., RPARECON Offshore

Jason Burns, M.A., RPA is a co-founder and Principal of RECON Offshore. A US Navy veteran, he has been successful as a project manager, professional maritime archeologist, and marine surveyor with 24 years of experience. He has worked for federal/state government agencies, worked as a private consultant, and for non-profit/museum entities giving him a wide variety of experience. Jason is the developer and owner of the website, Underwater Archaeology and Maritime History Jobs, https://underwaterarchaeologyjobs.com/, which posts opportunities around the world daily. Jason meets the DOI requirements for a QMA.

Michael Krivor, M.A., RPARECON Offshore

Michael Krivor, M.A., RPA is a co-founder and Principal at RECON Offshore. He has over 26 years’ experience in all aspects of Submerged Cultural Resource Management (SCRM). Michael has successfully completed more than 150 maritime archaeology projects around the world including North America, the West Indies, South America, Africa, and throughout the Pacific. His passion includes using his expertise in maritime archaeology to work in the most remote locations around the globe. Michael meets the DOI requirements for a QMA.

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